I am listening to this ghazal called "Jitne bhi gham the dil ki..." by hari ji, from his album Qaraar. Woah, What bliss!! This is predominantly based on the carnatic Raag Aarabhi, with some real subtle twists which makes this ghazal so enjoyable. I feel the odd transitions in this ghazal gives aarabhi a whole new dimension.

I bow infront of the musical genius - Padmashree Hariharan! Its a pity many of his early ghazal albums did not get the attention they deserved. This particular track that I am referring to is from the album Qaraar, which comes packed with spellbinding melodies. Hari i's pathbreaking attempt at mixing those signature ghazal elements to this pure carnatic raag - Aarabhi.

How much I wish i could sing those sangathi's for my last concert (At Ranjani Sangeetha Sabha, Kerala) where I rendered "Saala Kallala.." in Aarabhi. How much I wish the carnatic music communtiy start appreciating the experience more than doing a deep drill to find if the vocalist had given glimpses of Suddha saveri while singing aarabhi. Many a time I feel that the audience of carnatic music (Not all of them, ofcourse) are concerned more about the mistakes, or anyaswarams or possible drifts that an artiste makes while his rendition rather than enjoying the music that he is producing. Its such a tiring thing to do Quality Assurance on a concert. Afterall, thats not what you pay for when you come for a concert.

Before I type the next line, I would like to say that I like all raagas and all kinds of raagas. I believe each of them have an indviduality and beauty. Having said that I find myself a little uncomfortable when somebody is singing an elaborate aalap of Naatakapriya. Naataka priya is technically half todi +half kharaharapriya. I still havent come across a convincing alaap of Naatakapriya by any artist as they simply sing thodi's sanchaaras upto pa and kharaharapriya's after pa. And overally, I dont get the happiness that I would have gotten if the singer chose to sing Thodi or Kharaharapriya.

Now, Now... I am not saying someone should not sing Naatakapriya (or any other raagam for that matter) , all i am trying to point out here is that singing an "apoorva raagam" (u might want to say Naatakapriya isnt one... I honor ur opinion but I strongly feel its one!) for the heck of it and getting a thrill of seeing atleast 10-15 faces who just dont know what raagam is this and finally declaring after the aalap as to what this raag was , and how difficult it is etc sounds bit too tedious for me. Actually I dont care if its Naatakapriya or Todi or Kharaharapriya, All I care is whether it sounded good to me. I refuse to appreciate the singer just for the fact that he "dared" to sing an rare raagam.

I have always been Pro-experimentation. If you have followed my previous posts, I myself have written about raised eyebrows when i sang manirangu. I repeat my notion that no experiment can be called a bad experiment. All that I am trying to pin here is that, many a time, the singer who chooses to sing a rare raagam does not give enough thought or mind application in his rendition. He just tries to float on the hype and curiosity that is created in the listeners mind when he starts the aalap/song. But I don come for a concert to watch a detective series. I want good sound, good experience, Really doesnt matter if its a rare raaga or popular raaga

Many a time I have seen critics in paper write "Xyz artist showed so much mastery in rendering ABC raaga , which offers little scope for elaborate rendition" So absurd!! If the raaga doesnt give enough scope for elaborate rendition (Its again a state of mind! I feel any raaga can be elaborated oif enough dedication, hardwork and mindapplication is given to it!) why are you wasting my time by singing it. Its like a 40 KG guy trying to lift a 100KG iron , and falling down with his back broken. And the critic's remark can be compared to saing, what if he broke his back, the iron piece was so heavy!! Now this is like claiming sympathy!!

I feel What raaga you sing or how difficult the raaga is should not really be a benchmark in appreciating a musicians capability. It should simply be how good he sounds, whatever raaga he sang. That makes it so simple and simple is beautiful!